Fluid pressure device having outside inside rotary valve means

ABSTRACT

Fluid pressure device including housing means having first and second fluid port means and operable fluid pressure means secured to said housing means. Fluid flow between said operable fluid pressure means and said first and second fluid port means is controlled by outside-inside rotary valve means rotatively supported by hollow shaft means. Said rotary valve means has on the outside thereof outside fluid chamber means in constant fluid communication with said first fluid port means and has on the inside thereof inside fluid chamber means in constant fluid communication with said second fluid port means through said hollow shaft means which has an unrestricted fluid passageway.

United States Patent 1 Woodling [54] FLUID PRESSURE DEVICE HAVINGOUTSIDE-INSIDE ROTARY VALVE 21 Appl. No.: 166,547

[52] U.S. Cl ..137/625.21 [51] Int. Cl ..F16k 11/02 [58] Field of Search..418/61; l37/625.21, 625.22,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,405,603 10/1968 Woodling..418/61 3,552,892 1/1971 W0odling..... 3,592,233 7/1971 Woodling..418/6l X 1 Mar. 27, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 6,715,2275/1968 Netherlands Primary Examiner-Henry T. KlinksiekAttorney-Woodling, Krost, Granger and Rust [5 7] ABSTRACT Fluid pressuredevice including housing means having first and second fluid port meansand operable fluid pressure means secured to said housing means. Fluidflow between said operable fluid pressure means and said first andsecond fluid port means is controlled by outside-inside rotary valvemeans rotatively supported by hollow shaft means. Said rotary valvemeans has on the outside thereof outside fluid chamber means in constantfluid communication with said first fluid port means and has on theinside thereof inside fluid chamber means in constant fluidcommunication with said second fluid port means through said hollowshaft means which has an unrestricted fluid passageway.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHARZYIBH ,722,546

2o 29 f I/ E ,34 35 INVENTOR.

GEORGE V. WOODLING FLUID PRESSURE DEVICE HAVING OUTSIDE- INSIDE ROTARYVALVE MEANS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application relates to anoutside-inside rotary valve and the unrestricted flow of fluid betweenthe fluid ports in the housing and the rotary valve.

Unrestricted flow and short flow distances increase the efficiency ofthe valving in a fluid pressure device. High efficiency is accomplishedin applicant's device by rotatively mounting an outside-inside rotaryvalve upon a hollow shaft in a fluid housing having first and secondfluid port means. The fluid flow between the outside of the rotary valveand the first fluid port means is very short and unrestricted. Thehollow shaft has a large passageway which provides fluid communicationbetween the inside of the rotary valve and the second fluid port meansand thus the fluid flow therethrough is very short and unrestricted.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide an unrestrictedand a short fluid flow between the valving and the inlet and outletfluid ports of a fluid pressure device.

Another object is to provide high efficiency to the fluid flow.

Another object is to utilize a hollow shaft which rotatively supportsthe valving as a passageway to provide an unrestricted flow of the fluidto and from the valv- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention constitutesa fluid pressure device including housing means having first and secondfluid port means, outside-inside rotary valve means in said housingmeans, hollow shaft means in said housing means for rotativelysupporting said rotary valve means, said rotary valve means havingaround the outside thereof first fluid chamber means in constant fluidcommunication with said first fluid port means and having on the insidethereof second fluid chamber means in constant fluid communication withsaid second fluid port means through said hollow shaft means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects and a fullerunderstanding of this invention may be had be referring to the followingdescription and claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a fluid pressure device embodying the featuresof my invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1, except that thesection through the fluid ports and rotary valve is taken along a lineother than a vertical center line, and showing the fluid ports in thehousing in section as well as illustrating both the outside and insiderotary valve communicating ports which appear unshaded;

FIG. 3 is a left-hand side view of the rotary valve only, taken alongthe line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing principally a female socket ofnon-circular configuration, the rotary valve being rotated 90 from theposition shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a representation of a male shank provided on a terminalportion of a hollow shaft adapted to DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT For clarity of invention, the usual static seals and the 0seal for the rotating shaft are not shown. Also, all wear parts are madeof hardenable surfaces and are well lubricated by the operating fluid.

With reference to the drawing, the fluid pressure device in which myrotary valving means may be incorporated, comprises generally a mainhousing 20 having substantially a square cross-section. A mountingflange 21 may be secured to the left-hand end of the housing by means ofsuitable screws 26 (one of which is shown in FIG. 1). The housing 20 ishollow from end-to-end, and intermediate the ends of the hollow housingthere is provided an annular internal rim 22 which generally separatesthe hollow-housing into a left-hand end compartment and a right-hand endcompartment. Rotatively mounted in the left-hand end compartment is amain load shaft 25 having an axis substantially coinciding with thelongitudinal axis of the fluid pressure device. A bushing 27 and arotary valve 28 are mounted in the right-hand end compartment. On theright-hand end of the hollow-housing, there is mounted a squarestationary valve member 29 by means of suitable screws 30. The rotaryvalve is adapted to be rotated relative to the stationary valve member29 for controlling the entrance of fluid to and the exit of fluid from astatorrotor mechanism 31 comprising a stator 32 and a rotor 33. An endcap 34 encloses the stator-rotor mechanism 31. The stator-rotormechanism 31 and the end cap 34 are secured to the stationary valvemember 29 by means of screws 35. Fluid is delivered to and from thehousing 20 through a pair of fluid ports 23 and 24. An actuating shaft36 interconnects the main shaft 25 with the rotor 33 of the stator-rotormechanism 31 and is adapted to transmit torque therebetween.

The main shaft 25 comprises an enlarged internal portion having areduced external portion 41 extending axially outwardly of the mainhousing 20 through the mounting flange 21. The enlarged internal portionof the main shaft is supported preferably by tapered roller bearings 42and 43 disposed side-by-side with the bearing 42 disposed oppositely tothat of the tapered roller bearing 43. Thus, the tapered roller bearings42 and 43, in combination with each other, provide for radial thrust aswell as for end thrust in both axial directions, with the tapered rollerbearing 42 disposed to take the greater part of the radial load. Atightening nut 54 which threadably engages male threads 55 secures thebearings 42 and 43 against axial movement upon the main shaft. Thetightening nut 54 may be provided with a built-in locking feature toprevent loosening.

As shown, the bearings 42 and 43 are secured against axial movement inthe housing by axial fixation means, indicated by the referencecharacter 60. The axial fixation means 60 is located within a bore 62 ofthe flange and comprises an annular V-shaped or pointed rib whichaxially abuts against a transversely disposed solid abutment wall of thebearing 42. The rib may be constructed either integrally with or as aseparate part from the flange 21. By pressing the flange 21 against theend of the housing during assembly, the pointed rib is coined againstthe bearing 42, with the result that the fixation means accommodates foraxial tolerance in matching the position of the bearings in the housing.The pressure required to coin the axial fixation means is greater thanthe end-wise thrust load to which the bearing means 42 may be subjectedin operation, in which case the bearings 42 and 43 are resisted againstaxial movement in operation. The main shaft is entirely supported by thetwo tapered roller bearings 42 and 43. The reduced external shaftportion 41 where it passes axially through the end mounting flange 21 isnot journalled therein but rotates therein with a small radial clearancewhich is adapted to be sealed off by suitable shaft seal means, notshown. The axial fixation-means 60, after being coined, provides a fluidseal between the housing and the flange.

The bearings 42 and 43 constitute common bearing means for the mainshaft 25 and the rotary valve 28. The common bearing means directlysupport the main shaft 25 and indirectly support the rotary valve 28through extension drive means comprising a hollowshaft 44 carried by theload shaft 25. The hollow shaft 44 extends axially from the load shaft25 in the lefthand compartment into the right-hand compartment fordriving connection with the rotary valve 28 for rotating same relativeto the stationary valve 29. The hollow shaft 44 terminated with a maleshank 45 which slidably fits within a female socket 46 provided in therotary valve 28, see FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. This connection comprises anon-rotatable connection and rotates the rotary valve upon rotation bythe main shaft. The connection also provides slidable axial movementbetween the rotary valve 28 and the hollow shaft 44 to accommodate foraxial movement of the load shaft without interfering with the operationof the rotary valve. The axial slidably movement which is permittedbetween the male shank 45 and the female socket 46 is greater than themaximum distance that the load shaft 25 may move in an axial directionduring operation. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the rotary valve 28 and thesecond compartment means in which it is mounted has a radial clearance47 therebetween to accommodate for radial movement of the load shaft 25without interfering with the operation of the rotary valve. The radialclearance 47 is greater than the maximum distance that the load shaft 25may move in a radial direction during operation.

The operation of the rotary valve relative to the stationary valveprovides for controlling the entrance of fluid to and the exit of fluidfrom the stator-rotor mechanism. The action of the rotary valve 28 incommutation with the stationary valve is such that there is a firstseries of commutating fluid connections between the fluid port 23 andthe stator-rotor mechanism and a second series of commutating fluidconnections between the stator-rotor mechanism and the fluid port 24.The stationary valve 29 has a plurality of circumferentially disposedopenings 48 which extend therethrough to provide for fluid communicationbetween the rotary valve 28 and the stator-rotor mechanism. Thecommutating valve action, and the flow of fluid between the fluid ports23 and 24 and the stator-rotor mechanism is substantially the same asthat shown and described in my US. Pat. No. 3,405,603. Thus, in thepresent application, the annular channel around the outside of therotary valve is in constant communication with the fluid port 23 and thecentral space inside the rotary valve is in constant communication withthe fluid port 24 through the hollow shaft 44, which includes sideopenings 50 extending through the wall thereof. The fluid flow betweenthe channel around the outside of the rotary valve and the fluid port 23is very short and unrestricted. The hollow shaft 44, as well as the sideopenings 50 comprise a large fluid passageway, whereby the fluid flowbetween the inside of the rotary valve and the fluid port 24 is likewisevery short and unrestricted.

As shown and described in the present invention, the rotary valve 28functions without interference from axial and radial thrust loads on theload shaft 25, even though it is rotatively supported by the samebearings that support the load shaft.

Unrestricted fluid flow between the right-hand end compartment in whichthe rotary valve 28 is mounted and the left-hand end compartment inwhich the load shaft 25 and the bearings 42 and 43 are mounted isprovided by a relatively large passageway means indicated by thereference character 51, being the inside diameter of the bushing 27 andof the rim 22. Major fluid flow from the chamber inside of the rotaryvalve 28 to the left-hand end compartment is through the inside of thehollow shaft 44 and through the openings 50 whichextend through the sidewalls thereof. This major fluid flow is substantially unrestricted.Minor fluid flow from the chamber inside of the rotary valve to theleft-hand end compartment is through an annular clearance space betweenthe passageway means 51 and the outside of the hollow shaft 44. As shownin FIGS. 2 and 3, the left-hand side of the rotary valve 28 is providedwith slots 52 whereby minor flow of fluid may pass therethrough andenter the annular clearance space around the hollow shaft 44. From theforegoing description, it is observed that the chamber inside the rotaryvalve is in constant fluid communication with the left-hand endcompartment. The fluid ports 23 and 24 are respectively in constantfluid communication with the external fluid chamber surrounding therotary valve and with the internal fluid chamber internally of therotary valve and the constant communication provided thereby issubstantially unrestricted. There is ample fluid space around theactuating shaft 36 and inside the hollow shaft 44 to provideunrestrictive flow of the fluid.

The rotary valve 28 and the stationary valve 29 provide ametal-to-metal, hardenable confronting engagement therebetween fordefining a fluid seal between the fluid chamber means on the outside ofthe rotary valve and the fluid chamber means on the inside of the valve.

Since the confronting surface of the valving are metal-.

and that numerous changes in the details of construction and thecombination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed.

What is claimed is:

1. Fluid pressure device including housing means having first and secondfluid port means, outside-inside rotary valve means in said housingmeans, hollow shaft means in said housing means for rotativelysupporting said rotary valve means, said rotary valve means havingaround the outside thereof first fluid chamber means in constant fluidcommunication with said first fluid port means and having on the insidethereof second fluid chamber means in constant fluid communication withsaid second fluid port means through said hollow shaft means.

2. Fluid pressure device including housing means having first and secondfluid port means, operable pressure means secured to said housing means,valve means including outside-inside rotary valve means for controllingthe flow of fluid between said operable pressure means and said firstand second fluid port means, hollow shaft means in said housing meansfor rotatively supporting said rotary valve means, said rotary valvemeans having around the outside thereof first fluid chamber means inconstant fluid communication with said first fluid port means and havingon the inside thereof second fluid chamber means in constant fluidcommunication with said second fluid port means through said hollowshaft means.

3. In a fluid pressure device having first and second fluid port means,fluid compartment means, first and second fluid chamber meansrespectively in constant fluid communication with said first and secondfluid port means, valve means including movable valve means defining afluid seal between said first and second fluid chamber means, one ofsaid fluid chamber means and said fluid compartment means having fluidpassageway means therebetween, shaft means for actuating said movablevalve means, said shaft means extending through said passageway means,said one of said fluid chamber means and said fluid compartment meansbeing in constant fluid communication with each other through saidpassageway means.

4. In a fluid pressure device having first and second fluid port means,fluid compartment means, first and second fluid chamber meansrespectively in constant fluid communication with said first and secondfluid port means, valve means including movable valve means defining afluid seal between said first and second fluid chamber means, one ofsaid fluid chamber means and said fluid compartment means having fluidpassageway means therebetween, shaft means for actuating said movablevalve means, said shaft means extending through said passageway means,and including hollow shaft means extending from said fluid compartmentmeans to said one of said fluid chamber means, said one of said fluidchamber means and said fluid compartment means being in constant fluidcommunication with each other through said hollow shaft means.

5. The structure of claim 4, wherein, said hollow shaft means defineswith said passageway means an annular clearance space, said one of saidfluid chamber means and said fluid compartment means being in constantfluid communication with each other through both said hollow shaft meansand said clearance space.

6. The structure of claim 5, wherein said rotary valve means has slotmeans to provide fluid communication to said clearance space.

7. In a fluid pressure device having first and second fluid port means,fluid compartment means, first and second fluid chamber meansrespectively in constant communication with said first and second fluidport means, valve means including first and second relatively movablevalve means confrontingly engaging each other and defining a fluid sealbetween said first and second fluid chamber means, said first valvemeans comprising stationary valve means fixedly mounted in an axialdirection, said second valve means comprising movable valve meansconfrontingly engaging said stationary valve means, said stationaryvalve means and said movable valve means including hardenable surfaceswhereby said movable valve means has an axial position fixed by saidstationary valve means against which it confrontinly engages, hollowshaft means extending from said fluid compartment means to one of saidfluid chamber means, said one of said fluid chamber means and said fluidcompartment means being in constant fluid communication with each otherthrough said hollow shaft means, said hollow shaft means and saidmovable valve means having a mechanical connection therebetween, saidmechanical connection including an axially slidable connection.

1. Fluid pressure device including housing means having first and secondfluid port means, outside-inside rotary valve means in said housingmeans, hollow shaft means in said housing means for rotativelysupporting said rotary valve means, said rotary valve means havingaround the outside thereof first fluid chamber means in constant fluidcommunication with said first fluid port means and having on the insidethereof second fluid chamber means in constant fluid communication withsaid second fluid port means through said hollow shaft means.
 2. Fluidpressure device including housing means having first and second fluidport means, operable pressure means secured to said housing means, valvemeans including outside-inside rotary valve means for controlling theflow of fluid between said operable pressure means and said first andsecond fluid port means, hollow shaft means in said housing means forrotatively supporting said rotary valve means, said rotary valve meanshaving around the outside thereof first fluid chamber means in constantfluid communication with said first fluid port means and having on theinside thereof second fluid chamber means in constant fluidcommunication with said second fluid port means through said hollowshaft means.
 3. In a fluid pressure device having first and second fluidport means, fluid compartment means, first and second fluid chambermeans respectively in constant fluid communication with said first andsecond fluid port means, valve means including movable valve meAnsdefining a fluid seal between said first and second fluid chamber means,one of said fluid chamber means and said fluid compartment means havingfluid passageway means therebetween, shaft means for actuating saidmovable valve means, said shaft means extending through said passagewaymeans, said one of said fluid chamber means and said fluid compartmentmeans being in constant fluid communication with each other through saidpassageway means.
 4. In a fluid pressure device having first and secondfluid port means, fluid compartment means, first and second fluidchamber means respectively in constant fluid communication with saidfirst and second fluid port means, valve means including movable valvemeans defining a fluid seal between said first and second fluid chambermeans, one of said fluid chamber means and said fluid compartment meanshaving fluid passageway means therebetween, shaft means for actuatingsaid movable valve means, said shaft means extending through saidpassageway means, and including hollow shaft means extending from saidfluid compartment means to said one of said fluid chamber means, saidone of said fluid chamber means and said fluid compartment means beingin constant fluid communication with each other through said hollowshaft means.
 5. The structure of claim 4, wherein, said hollow shaftmeans defines with said passageway means an annular clearance space,said one of said fluid chamber means and said fluid compartment meansbeing in constant fluid communication with each other through both saidhollow shaft means and said clearance space.
 6. The structure of claim5, wherein said rotary valve means has slot means to provide fluidcommunication to said clearance space.
 7. In a fluid pressure devicehaving first and second fluid port means, fluid compartment means, firstand second fluid chamber means respectively in constant communicationwith said first and second fluid port means, valve means including firstand second relatively movable valve means confrontingly engaging eachother and defining a fluid seal between said first and second fluidchamber means, said first valve means comprising stationary valve meansfixedly mounted in an axial direction, said second valve meanscomprising movable valve means confrontingly engaging said stationaryvalve means, said stationary valve means and said movable valve meansincluding hardenable surfaces whereby said movable valve means has anaxial position fixed by said stationary valve means against which itconfrontinly engages, hollow shaft means extending from said fluidcompartment means to one of said fluid chamber means, said one of saidfluid chamber means and said fluid compartment means being in constantfluid communication with each other through said hollow shaft means,said hollow shaft means and said movable valve means having a mechanicalconnection therebetween, said mechanical connection including an axiallyslidable connection.